Leaving the Nest

Standing its ground:
A young Cooper’s hawk just a day out of its nest shows hawk-like determination toward the camera. The hawk is the first of the clutch to leave the nest. The William & Mary community has watched the progress of the nesting since March.

One Cooper’s hawk is out of the nest and doing just fine

by Joseph McClain
| June 17, 2010

One of the Sunken Garden's Cooper's hawks is out of the
nest.

William & Mary ornithologist Dan Cristol had a flurry of
calls on the afternoon of June 17. Each caller wanted him to know that a hawk
chick was running around the Thomas Jefferson statue and between Washington and
McGlothlin-Street halls. Each caller had a question: What should we do?

"Nothing," Cristol
said. "Leave him alone. The parents will continue to feed the chicks for a
while even after they leave the nest. What we don't want is someone trying to
help out and trying to take the chick to the vet."

Cristol, professor of biology at the College, noted
that this species of raptor specializes in eating birds. He said that earlier
in the day he saw the father hawk tearing apart a bird to feed his offspring.
"The air was just thick with feathers," he said. Cooper's hawks are becoming
more common in the area, he said. This pair began building their nest in
March. The nest is in one of the beech trees in front of Washington Hall.

"A lot of people have been by to look at the hawks," Cristol
said. "Even people off campus have called me. One lady yelled at me for not letting
her know."

One baby hawk is out of the nest, but three siblings remain.
"I thought there were only three babies," Cristol said, looking up at the nest.
"but we have one on the ground and there's one, two, three up there yet."

A Cooper's hawk fledgling is by no means defenseless,
Cristol said. The chicks are now about as big as their father and after a
couple of days, they even ought to be able to defend themselves against most
dogs, he said. The other nestlings ought to be leaving their birthplace within
a few days.